Video and quotes: Cassius Marsh

And wrapping up the interviews from Saturday, here is some video and quotes from defensive end Cassius Marsh:

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On if he’ll be lobbying for some time at tight end after catching two TDs at UCLA: “I’m just here to compete. I would love to. It would be my pleasure to, you know, in the red zone. There’s nothing like getting a sack but a touchdown is like a 1-B. That would be awesome but only if the coaches need that from me.”

On what the past week has been like after getting drafted: “It’s been amazing. To get drafted, one, is like a dream come true. And to get drafted by the world champs is just something so special to me. And to be able to be here with Coach Carroll, you know, I missed him in college and I just feel extremely blessed and privileged to be here.”

On if he’s had a welcome to the NFL moment yet: “I don’t know, man. I think it kind of hit me when I was rolling up on the facilities here. I’ve never seen anything so beautiful in my life. I mean, the lake – we’re practicing next to a lake. That’s unbelievable. And the facility looks like its own little city. I don’t know. It’s just ridiculous to me. I love it here. The staff – equipment staff, coaches, down to the guys in the café – are just awesome and I love it here. I feel at home and I’m sad that I have to leave unfortunately to go back to school but I can’t wait to get back here and I’m going to continue to work hard when I go home.”

On what the coaches have outlined about his role: “They just want me to come in here and compete. They know that I’m a versatile player and I can play a multitude of positions – defensive end, rush from a three, play outside, play all over the place – and I think that’s what they expect from me to just come in here and compete wherever I can. I don’t think there are any predictions or anything. I’m just trying to come in and compete and I’m trying to be a part of the team and learn from the guys. You know, there are a lot of really special players here and a lot to be learned.”

On being familiar with Michael Bennett and his role here: “Oh yeah, I love his game. It’s like an advanced version of mine, I’d like to think. It’s very powerful, extremely quick, great with his hands, just a relentless player and I love watching the entire defensive line play. There’s something to learn from all the guys. Bennett is more of a player like me – or me like him – but there’s something to learn from everybody on the defensive line.”

On playing for Pete Carroll after envisioning playing for him coming out of high school but not having the chance: “Coach Carroll is awesome, man. He really loves his guys. They really buy into their guys and they make you feel at home and they really take care of you here. He makes you really want to perform for him and makes you want to give your all for the team, for him, because you don’t want to let him down because he does so much for you. Again, I just feel so blessed to be here. I love Seattle – just the little bit I’ve seen of it, it’s a beautiful place. A lot of green and I love the water so I get to see it every day and it’s good for me.”

On if he’s looking to put on 20 pounds by the beginning of the season: “I’m just going to continue to work hard. I do need to gain weight but I’m going to do it the right way and get with the nutritionist and the weight coach and work extremely hard and do the things I need to do. I don’t have any deadline for any particular weight. I’m just going to work hard and go from there.”

On using his hands as a pass rusher: “I’ve been lucky. My coach in high school was awesome. Always taught me to shoot my hands and taught me the basics of defensive line at a young age. I was blessed there. In college, I worked a lot with Jay Glazer doing MMA stuff and my hands developed a lot. But I’ve always kind of had some natural ability when it comes to that but I know the importance of it on the defensive line so I’ve always worked it as much as I can.”